33 WWE WrestleMania Opening Matches Ranked From Worst To Best

12. AJ Styles Vs. Shane McMahon - WrestleMania 33

Triple H Daniel Bryan WrestleMania XXX
WWE.com

An objectively phenomenal achievement on the part of AJ Styles, the subjective reception of this opener is dependent on your perception of his opponent. Those willing to fully suspend disbelief encountered an impossibly well-worked version of the modern back-and-forth epic. Those who cannot reconcile the premise of Shane McMahon technically levelling up to the best wrestler in the company found it impossible to fully invest in the optimistic, almost galling storytelling of ageing executive non-wrestler Shane's KUSHIDA-esque Venus fly trap submission game.

Subjectively, your writer occupies the latter camp, and thus this opener fails to occupy the top 10.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!